Pied Heron

Egretta picata (Gould, 1845)

43–55 cmLength259 gWeight

It is a small heron, the adult having a dark slate-gray body and a white throat and neck.

Busiest months: July–October · Most records: Australia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Adult has dark gray wings, body and crested head
Adult has a white throat and neck

Male, female and young

Sexes similar, but the male is heavier; immatures lack a crest and do not have a dark head.

Voice

A loud “awk” or “ohrk” in flight, with soft cooing at the nest.

Where and when it's recorded

Pied Heron has been recorded at 44 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 5 countries and regions.

Records by month Southern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Fogg Dam Conservation ReserveAustralia1,449 records
Kakadu National Park – Yellow WaterAustralia1,024 records
Katherine Wastewater Treatment PlantAustralia899 records

More places

Leanyer PondsAustralia759 records
Holmes Jungle Nature ReserveAustralia534 records
Pacific Adventist UniversityPapua New Guinea514 records
Townsville Town Common Conservation ParkAustralia37 records
Muirhead bushlandAustralia34 records
Keatings Lagoon Conservation ParkAustralia33 records
Buffalo CreekAustralia30 records

Countries and regions with the most records

Australia Papua New Guinea Timor-Leste China Indonesia

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The pied heron (Egretta picata), also known as the pied egret is a bird found in coastal and subcoastal areas of monsoonal northern Australia as well as some parts of Wallacea and New Guinea.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Pied Heron?

The Pied Heron is about 43–55 cm long and weighs around 259 g.

Where does the Pied Heron live?

Its breeding range: Australasia: Sulawesi and northeastern Western Australia to northeastern Queensland (northern Australia). It is most often recorded in Australia, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste.